An Introduction to the Career Development/Life Planning Process

Transcription

1 Page 1 An Introduction to the Career Development/Life Planning Process There will be several questionnaires that you will be asked to complete before coming to the Center. Some are somewhat lengthy and requires some thought on your part. While we recognize that time is at a premium for all of us, we ask that you prayerful give consideration to the questions and provide as much information as possible. We want to get to know you and help you (and your ministry executive or candidacy committee, if applicable) get to know you as well. This is one of your first steps in the process. You will not come to us simply for testing. We seek to engage you in understanding your career development and life planning processes. Career development is a lifelong process involving a continuous search for ways of acting on your understanding of your gifts and what you have to offer. It is a process which is best when it is dynamic responsive to growth, to deepening values, and to changing life perspectives and circumstances. In one sense, an assessment program for someone either considering or who is in a church-related vocation is no different from a career development program at any other point in life. It is an opportunity to take a current and comprehensive look at who you uniquely are: your interests, competencies, indications of potential, values, needs, and wishes. Further, it is an opportunity to plan how you will act on that understanding of yourself in the context of the needs and other realities of the church and the world it serves. This program is designed to help you look carefully at yourself. It is an opportunity for you to be yourself and to engage in self-exploration, using the time as one for learning or confirmation of your gifts, strengths, growing edges, dreams and desires. The information you provide will help the counselor get to know you and to stimulate your own reflection and self- understanding. There are, of course, no wrong or right responses or particular responses we are looking for. In most instances a report will be written summarizing your career outlook. It will include indications of your strengths, promising directions, priorities, and limitations. Interpret the questions in such a way that your answers are relevant to your present work/life situation. After you have completed this questionnaire, you may choose to make a copy for your own files. This one will be retained in your file here at the Center. Please write legibly or use a typewriter or word processor if possible. If you need more space, attach additional sheets. If you use a word processor, please maintain the outline of the personal data form and include the questions as you type. We look forward to our time together.

2 Personal Data Form For Career Development & Life Planning For Clergy and Church Professionals Name Address City State Zip Ministry Development Services 6100 Sardis Rd. Charlotte, NC Revised 2014 Assessment - D

3 Part I Biographical Data Name Age Gender Place of birth Date of birth Racial/ethnic designation (optional) Marital Status: Single Engaged Married, first time Separated Divorced Remarried from Divorce Widowed Partnered If presently married, date of marriage Spouse s first name If widowed, divorced, or remarried, please give date(s) when previous marriage(s) began and ended. If you have children, list them by first name, date of birth, and gender. Name Date of Birth Gender Where living, any grandchildren, etc. List members of your family of origin, (F) father, (M) mother, (S) sister, (B) brother, (Sf) self, chronologicall/appointmenty, beginning with the oldest. If any is deceased, place (D) after the age of that person at the time of death. F, M, S, B, Sf Age Occupation Education Level Comments Part II Educational History Year finished high school Please list all education since high school: Dates Institution: City/State Major Degree GPA based on 4.0 Please list all continuing education courses that have been meaningful and/or helpful to you: Dates Event title Sponsoring agency Location Knowledge gained/skills improved

4 Subjects of special study or research: Foreign languages spoken: Have you participated in any other career/life planning experiences? Yes No If so, when and where? How were they helpful? Part III Employment History List all major job experiences and/or significant volunteer services since high school, including dates, employer, and type of position. For each, indicate your primary duties. Dates Employer Position Salary Primary Duties Note the skills from the above which you believe have been helpful to you in a church vocation. Part IV Residential History Beginning with the first, list the communities in which you have lived from birth to present. Give the years, your ages, the names of the communities including states (and/or countries if other than the U.S.), and religious/denominational affiliations. Under Comment you may add an explanation, such as in college, or you may wish to comment on how you felt about living in each location. (Please add a sheet if additional space is needed.)

5 Dates Age(s) Community/State Religious Affiliation Comment Part V Affiliation With what denomination or religious order are you affiliated/affiliating? What presbytery, synod, conference, geographic region or judicatory? Do you have a current designated ecclesiastical status, and if so, what? Judicatory contact person: Address: Your current designated ecclesiastical status:

6 Part VI - Spiritual Matters 1. Describe your earliest memory of a religious/spiritual experience or belief 2. How would you describe your present relationship with God? In what way does your relationship with God influence your daily life? 3. What personal spiritual disciplines do you practice on a regular basis?

7 4. How does your practice of ministry or church involvement fulfill your personal and/or spiritual needs? 5. Do you feel that you are getting enough solitude?

8 Part VII Vocation The next few pages are going to ask you to write about your call/appointments/appointments. There are a number of questions, so it may seem daunting to complete. Please consider each question carefully as you respond. Please use as many sheets of paper or as much space as you need. If you want to want to use extra pages, please feel free to do so. Describe your decision to enter your occupation, including such data as age, circumstance, influential people or experiences, etc. Describe your most recent call including: a. Size and description of congregation or placement b. Duties and Responsibilities c. How did you come to accept the call/appointment or placement d. What was attractive to you about the congregation/placement as you were beginning e. What do you most enjoy about your congregation/placement

9 f. Which of your skills and interests are/were not being used. g. What would like or did you most want to change about this call/appointment/job? h. How would you (have) describe(d) your relationship with those co-workers? i. What feedback did or have you received about your effectiveness in this call/appointment? j. What was/is frustrating about this call/appointment? k. What kind of feedback that you did not receive do you wish that you had had?

10 l. How have you asked for support from the congregation/placement for the ministry? m. If you have left, what were the reasons for leaving this call/appointment?

11 n. If this call/appointment was dissolved or if you were asked to take a leave of absence what is your understanding of what led to this decision?

12 Go back to your first call/appointment/appointment or first full-time church-related position a. How did you come to be in the call/appointment/appointment or position? b. What was your expectation for this first call/appointment/appointment or position? c. How did this first call/appointment/appointment/position meet this expectation? d. How did this first call/appointment/appointment/position different from what you expected? e. How did your understanding of yourself as a professional in ministry develop? f. What brought you joy in this position? g. What was frustrating? h. What did you learn about yourself in this first call/appointment/appointment?

13 i. How did you make the decision to leave this call/appointment/appointment? j. What do you feel were your successes? k. What do you feel were your failures? l. Were you able to create a sense of balance between your call/appointment/appointment, personal, social and recreational lives? m. If you are married or partnered, how did the call/appointment/appointment/position change your relationship?

14 If you have had a 2 nd call/appointment/appointment/church-related position please answer these questions? a. How did you make the decision to accept this call/appointment/appointment/position? b. What did you hope would be different with this call/appointment/appointment/position? c. How did you discover the congregation s way of relating to their spiritual leaders? d. What did you hope to accomplish in this call/appointment/appointment/position? e. What did you learn about yourself during this call/appointment/appointment/position? f. How did you address nurturing your spiritual core? g. How did you incorporate what you learned about yourself in your first call/appointment/appointment into the way that you ministered in this position? h. What was frustrating in this call/appointment/appointment/position?

15 i. In what ways did this call/appointment/appointment help you to grow, how did it stretch you? j. How do you feel that you related differently to the congregation members in this call/appointment/appointment? k. Describe would you relationship with your co-workers in this call/appointment/appointment? l. How did you make the decision to leave this call/appointment/appointment/position? m. If you had/had a family how was the decision made to leave the congregation/position effect your family? If you have had a 3rd call/appointment/appointment/church-related position please answer these questions? What did you encounter in this call/appointment/appointment/position that you did not expect?

16 What was the most challenging in this call/appointment/appointment/position? What brought you joy? How did you come to make the decision to leave this call/appointment/appointment?

17 Career Planning List five traits (5 strengths and 5 weaknesses) that you feel are characteristic of you and illustrate them by briefly summarizing an instance or instances in which you have shown them. Strengths Illustration Weaknesses Illustration 1. What skills or attributes which you believe will be important to you do you think you are lacking and would like to develop? 2. Describe your leadership style 3. When you encounter conflict with another person or within the congregation, how are you likely to respond? 4. As you consider your career, what are your short-range goals?

18 5. As you consider your career, what are your long-range goals? 6. What are you hoping for in the career development program experience? What issues not previously mentioned would you like to work on in the experience?

19 Part VIII Autobiographical Briefly reflect on your experience of childhood (from birth until the beginning of high school, commenting on your relationship with parents and siblings, overall family situation, school, peer relationships, general activities, etc.). Reflect on your experience during the high school years (include family, peer and school relationship and other events or activities of particular meaning to you). Reflect on your experience in your early 20 s if applicable. Please include your experiences in college (include family, peer and school relationship and other events or activities of particular meaning to you) Reflect on your college experience if it did not occur after high school

20 Reflect on your experience in your late 20 s if applicable. (include family, peer and school relationship and other events or activities of particular meaning to you) Reflect on your experience in your 30 s, if applicable (include family, peer and school relationship and other events or activities of particular meaning to you) Reflect on your experiences in your 40 s to the present (include family, peer and school relationship and other events or activities of particular meaning to you)

21 Reflect on your relationships with the following: (Include how these persons feel about your plans for your life work) Your father During Childhood In adolescence/high school College through Current Your mother During Childhood In adolescence/high school College through Current Your brothers and sisters Other significant persons (other than spouse or partner) who may have impacted or influenced your life (grandparents, scout leader, teacher, pastor, youth leader, etc.). If you are married or engaged, describe your relationship. If not, you may use this space to describe another significant relationship or your social life.

22 How does your spouse or significant other feel about your occupation and your present position (if applicable)? In what ways will your spouse or significant other participate with you in this career counseling program (if applicable) If you have children, describe your relationship to them, the amount of time you spend with them, special needs, etc. How do your children feel about your occupation and your present position (if applicable)?

23 Which statement best describes your current family/living situation as you now see it? Very satisfactory Satisfactory Neither satisfactory or unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory Very unsatisfactory What would you like to change within your current family/living situation to increase your satisfaction level.